A Tale of Violet Eyes
by The Write Philosophia
Summary: Hey kid, what would you say if I told you I died? Well, it's true. In fact, I returned with more than my life. But a person like you wouldn't be interested in such a ridiculous, made-up fairy tale like this so - Wait, you do? Wow, I guess you're not as dumb as I thought. Well, then, where shall we start? Oh, but I'm not the main actress! It's a much more... complex tale than that.
1. A Tale of Newborn Eyes

**|..:| A Tale of Newborn Eyes |:..|**

**|~| "This is where our story starts." |~|**

July 26th. This is the day the story of several people in the seemingly endless summer days had begun. An absurd fantasy story to ignorant others, but it's as real as you and me. But I'm sure an ignorant kiddo like yourself wouldn't care for such a childish tale, so I guess I should just shut up and -

...

What?! You... you really want to hear this story? You're not joking are you? Hm... I guess you're not as dumb as I thought. Not that I doubted you. You seemed a bit more... different from the rest. I'm feeling a bit chatty today, so you're lucky. If you were any other kid on the road I'd probably mug you, because, y'know, that's my "job."

...

Well, yeah, it _is _a bit hard to survive on only stealing, but it's better than stapling stacks of paper in an office or farming some stupid carrots or whatever. Shouldn't you live life with a bit more... what's that word. Oh, yes! Shouldn't you live life with a bit of risk?

...

What do you mean it's better to live in safety? Look, kid, do you hate conformity? Are you a unique person? Do you put on your left sock first instead of your right or whatever?

...

Ah, what a hyprocrite! You hate conformity, yet you prefer to live your life in safety. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, fellow friend, but you can't live like that. Anyway, if you only had only six months left to live like me, of course you would -

...

Why I have only six months left to live is such an interesting question! It's _so _much more important then the actual story itself! Please note my sarcasm. Did you note it? Good job. You get a sticker.

Ah, I blabbing again. I guess I should stop stalling and start the story, eh?

Once upon a time - no, no, no. That's overdone. Um...

It was a dark and scary - ugh, this one is overdone _and_ stupid. Hey! Stop giving me that attitude! Look, you can see I'm not the writing type, right? Do you want to hear this story or not, because I'll be perfectly happy to press a knife to your neck and politely asking for all the cash in your pocket. Good. I thought so. Now, let me think for a minute on how to start this.

Let me think for a minute...

Ah! Got it! Prepare for the greatest introduction to a tale ever!

Y'know my eyes? Take a good look at 'em. Perfectly. Normal. Average. Boring. But you see, these two violet eyes are especially different from other eyes. Oh, they're not naturally violet, but when I use them, then BAM! The deepest violet you've ever seen! You won't believe me, but ten minutes ago, I was an old lady. Yep, an old lady. And before that, I was a four-year-old. Yeah. Pretty normal for the daily life of a teen.

I'll explain that into more detail later. For now, let's focus on the starting, basic actors of this elaborate play.

So, shall we start?

* * *

A rather plump woman tosses several different foods into the brown grocery bag. In exchange for the bag, the young man gives her a couple iron bars. The woman pockets the money and smiles brightly, emphasizing her expression with artificial sweeteners.

"Please come again, sir!"

Her customer tipped his hat politely and strolled away, taking a bite of the tantalizing apple. As she greeted another customer, she was ignorant of the prescence of two milk-chocolate eyes slyly giving a side-long glance to the fruits displayed on the storefront. The teen pulled her hoodie down to cover her face a bit more, trying her genuine best to hide her identity. There was such a variety of foods in the stall: baked potatoes, apples, cooked fish, and even juicy watermelon. If there were golden apples, it would've been perfect. She hadn't eaten an apple in a long time, so it would be a good thing to treat herself to after a rather high and successful income from the last time she worked at her "job."

The jolly shopkeeper turns around and heaves a sack of uncooked potatoes, the stove burning coals hungrily for some potatoes. It was the perfect oppurtunity to grab the apple. Of course she felt guilty. The shopkeeper's life isn't easy, but neither is hers.

Casual. All she needed to be was casual. She wasn't anyone special, she wasn't a theif, she wasn't present. She's stolen things before, but she was feeling excessively anxious today. Well, that didn't matter. She's done more perilous things before, and stealing an apple isn't that huge. Nonetheless, she couldn't push away that irritating itch away.

Humming an unrecognizable tune, the woman continued to foolishly turn her back, unaware of the apple that was in the sweating hands of the thief. Permitting a small smile to form on her lips, she looked proudly at the apple, comforting herself that nothing bad had occured.

That is, until she heard the robust voice behind her.

"Hey! You thief!" With an iron sword nestled in his belt, a police officer glared her way. Handcuffs in hand, he ran towards her, bent on arresting her. She hasn't been this close to be arrested since...?

"... Shit."Muttering that curse word under her breath, she fled the shopfront, the officer pursuing her tail.

_And I was on a roll, dammit!_

The surrounding storefronts blended together in a blur as she dashed forward. She shoved and pushed and bulldozed through the ocean of people, slowing down the enforcer of the law who politely weaved through them. Ahead of her was a crosswalk. The tall streetlight above them all was boasting a glaring red. Across the street, a small digitalized picture of a man was next to the numbers that were counting down the seconds.

Four seconds. She may not be the stealthy Aladin, but she's a pretty good runner. She'll definitely make it, and the police officer will be cut off by the traffic. It's the perfect plan for her escape.

Still having a firm grip on the apple, she rushed across the crosswalk, receiving shocked looks from the pedestrians witnessing her bold, mad dash to the other side. She'll certainly get across on time! She's a rather avid runner, so of course she will -

The sound of screeching tires pierced the air violently. Pedestrians' faces turned in horror at the scene, mouths agape. Some accompanied the sound of tires with a scream, others shut their eyes quickly to bear themselves the sight of the tradegy. The seasoned theif simply turned her head at the truck that was ramming into her.

The red apple flew out of her hand.

...

Stop giving me that glare! I must admit I do hate cliffhangers as much as you do, but for now, I must continue on a different approach. There are many more parts to this tale than what meets the average eyes that humans possess. If you want to listen to my story, you have to listen to our story. More people have a piece to this complex puzzle. This is not the story of one person. No, this is the story of all of us.

_This is where our story starts._

* * *

A pair of Eyes looked down upon the mortals. The screech of tires and the terrified screams of humans melted together in a tradegy. They didn't know someone was watching them from above, in a world unreachable by average humans. It was a simple world, without technology and pollution. The air was crisp and fresh, and a comfortable cottage was nestled in the massive field that made up her world. Wildlife flourished and extinct species frolicked. A tall figure suddenly appeared in front of a prestine pond. She gently held a delicate Eye of Ender in her palm, shining radiantly in the sun. After dusting off the Eye of Ender, she calmly tossed the blue-green orb into the pond, breaking its tranquility and sending ripples chasing after one another. Idana lived peacefully in this world, occaisionally checking on her creations, specifically the intriguing humans, through a tiny pond. Humans have always intrigued her with their amusing experiences, such as "falling in love" or "compassion."

Before, they seemed to be worth the same as the dull zombies roaming forests: useless, expressionless, and ignorant. One day, however, she saw zombies terrorizing the humans. Although she had little interest in the humans, something told her that they had more worth if she would just let them live. But another voice was thoughtful for the zombies, and told her to let them live to make life more interesting. She decided to banish the zombies to the night, and let the humans live on.

During her brief time on Earth, she learned the humans were more worthwhile, expressional, and intelligent than she had previous believed. However, she also discovered the humans were also the most confused, destructive, and complex out of all the other creatures she created. But all humans shared a common belief in her.

As centuries passed, her believers passed with the years. Soon, people were calling her a "mythological character," a "child's tale," and the label she despised the most, a "fairy tale." Soon, only a few people still believed in her existence. After the drastic decline of people who still remember her, Idana no longer had the strength to continue holding on to her powers. She managed to transition the seasons successfully, but no longer had the stamina to keep her powers. Each of the enderpearls hovering behind her long raven hair possessed a power that humans were willing to die for. Idana needed to pass the Eyes down, and the only choice she had was the humans, with their destructive greed. It was just like an aimless chair stealing game. Come and get a power if you manage to interest the goddess Idana! She looked down into the pond, once again seeing the sight of a car accident. The girl had been a thief, and was content with her life.

Indeed, she was an interesting human.

Idana felt a sudden sharp pain in her abdomen, and one of the fragments was broken, leaving the shattered remains to float down to the floor like autumn leaves. The first pair of Eyes have been given. _Ah, I hope I made the right decision. _An hour passed. Two. The world seemed to regain its monochrome composure once again. However, something changed when the last light of day vanished...

* * *

"O-Oh, hey Jia. How a-are you...?" The girl timidly stood in front of her rival. Although it was only six o'clock, the outside world was already shrouded in darkness. A tense aura floaded the room so suddenly, it caught her off guard and slowly began to rise from gently lapping at her toes to above her two

She came across Jia merely by chance. She did not plan this meeting, and she wished it never happened. How could she have known that she and Jia were the last people to leave the school? It was, indeed, a small world.

Jia's eyes could pierce through even the enderdragon's scales. "Hello." With that single sarcastic word seeping with venom, Fei trembled. She felt something perilous, possibly because of the emptiness of the classroom.

"Tell me, Fei, did you really pass the enterance exam?"

The sound of cicadas were the only thing heard as a silent, shocked girl stared at Jia. That spot meant everything to her, she knew that, and she had selfishly taken the spot when she shouldn't have. And how? A simple slip of paper with answers and formulas had allowed her to pass without spending a single minute studying. It was Jia's only chance to get a higher education in the city, away from the hard life of a farmer, and she took it away from her. And now there was this voice in the back of her head throwing insults at her constantly, mocking her, torturing her, driving her insane. _Oh my, how disgraceful! Are you happy? Oh, I see, now you're out of bullets, huh?_

That spot at the new high school for gifted students was all she had left to live for, and she stripped her oppurtunity away from her greedily. She hadn't meant this much harm. Fei had thought that she just wanted that spot because of the amount of clubs there. It was not that at all. That spot was the only school she had available to her left, and what did she do? Why, pick that school of course! Ruining someone's future would be that easy!

"You cheated, didn't you?" Beads of sweat began to form on Fei's face. _She caught me. She really did._ Here, in the classroom, she cheated. Here, in the same empty classroom, she was caught. All of her previous strength in her body was sucked out of her and her legs collapsed. She felt water slide down her cheek.

"I-I'm so s-sorry, Jia..." Fei sobbed. Jia stared at the weeping figure of her rival. _Yes, bow and beg for forgiveness, like the bitch you are. _However, before she realized it, Jia recalled her memories. They used to be friends, but turned into rivals when she had blamed her for the firework incident...

A sudden feeling crept upon her, a feeling of... sympathy? No way, it can't be. Sympathy? For this girl who had ruined her? Despite her argueing with herself, the sympathetic voice asked her, _"Who exactly is the monster now?"_

**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH.**

Both girls jumped at the sound of tires squealing, followed by a massive crash. "W-What was that?" Fei whispered in shock, her tears drying up and replaced by fear. Jia charged out the door into the dark night without a single hesitation to search for the source of the sound. Fei followed her with more caution. She gasped in shock at the sight before her: a massive truck had collided with a small car in a bloody impact. The driver of the truck looked at the man who he had accidentally crashed with and held a steel pipe tightly in his left hand. He didn't seem to notice the prescence of the two shocked girls.

The sole passenger of the car - a boy around the same age as them - squinted his eyes, seeing the man. His concentration was so intent as if he was reading his mind. His eyes widened in fear.

"_You!_" the driver hissed, gripping the metal pipe tighter. With a strike of the pipe, the glass of the car shattered in a thousand pieces. The two students' breathing became harder. The iron pipe came up, and Jia shut her eyes tight to spare herself of the sight.

When she opened them, there was one less person in the world.

He looked at the boy and lifted the pipe once more, ready to kill another person.

Jia dug into her pocket desperately and took out her cellphone. She fumbled the cellphone in her trembling hands. With a few quick presses of buttons, the cellphone snapped a photo of the crime, but not without cheerfully saying a word with a singsong voice:

_"Smile~!"_

The criminal turned his head at the two girls, forgetting about the boy quickly at the sound of the phone. He dashed towards Jia and Fei, the metal pipe stained with red. Jia's legs were immobilized. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't scream. She couldn't run. _This is a dream. This is a dream! This... this isn't real at all._

Pushing her away from the man, Fei shook away her rotten feelings towards her rival and screamed, _"Jia, run!" _With those words, Jia tore away from the man. Jia began to follow her, but turned to find that she was too late.

A blow to the head. A scream cut short. Three gasps, one from the passenger, one from the student, and one from the murderer.

He stared down wide-eyed at what he had done. With a deafening _clunk, _he dropped the pipe that was dyed red. "Fei... Fei... Fei... no... I didn't expect her to..." Looking up from the now lifeless Fei, his eyes searched vainly for Jia, fury exploding in his eyes. The sound of sirens could be heard faintly, signaling his capture. "I'll get you... just watch..." he muttered. "Hey! You girl! If you say anything to the cops about this, you'll become the same as your friend and that driver: a dead corpse. Understand?" Rapid footsteps were heard growing fainter and fainter until there was nothing but the echoing of sirens.

Behind a bush, Jia hugged her shoulders and trembled.

* * *

Broken remains of two ender fragments floated down, sending another stab of pain into Idana, this time doubled. After the pain subsided, Idana gazed down at the shaking figure of Jia. Such an intriguing specimen. Perhaps she, too, will gain a pair of violet Eyes. "This will be interesting..." Orbiting Idana, nine ender fragments remained.

* * *

From the small window cell, she could tell the sky was now dyed in black. The criminals of the ancient prison were still enjoying their comfortable slumber late in the middle of the night, but they did not know the restless girl across their cells was staring at the sky longingly. How long has it been since she had seen the moon in front of her eyes with complete freedom?

Other people would despise being a prisoner who, in reality, was an innocent victim. Their sanity would crumble into pieces, and eventually driving them to commit suicide. She wouldn't be like that. She didn't want to. She refused. Rather than despising her life like the others would do, she would cheerfully smile. She wanted to smile, wanted to share happiness, even if it was fake and brief. Kaya just wanted everyone to be happy. But in this life, happiness was a forein luxury that no one could afford.

A liquid slid down her cheek, and into her mouth. It tasted salty. _Ah, that's how tears taste... I've forgotten them already! Hahaha..._ She heard quiet chatterring, but ignored it, suspecting it was one of the prisoners who had a restless night as well.

_Please tell me why no one will believe me..._She mopped her nose with her pale arm. _No, no, no. Don't be pessimistic. Think of something happy. Think of Raiden, perhaps._

"Luhan!" A voice bellowed behind her. She turned, her heart already panicking. Kaya knew why. The owner of the voice was the one who gave her and another innocent classmate the life sentences for something she didn't commit. The man that ruined her life. The man who didn't deserve the title of "judge." She peeked between the iron bars to look at the judge look down at a child around the same age as her. "I brought you here to see the criminals who have ruined their lives. You shall study abroad," the man hissed, sending shudders to ripple down Kaya's spine. The boy, however, was not intimidated by the venom in his voice.

"No! I hate this! You're just sending me abroad because of my Eyes! I hate my Eyes! I wish I've never gotten them!" _E-Eyes?_

"You will study in the Aether. Understand?" He was losing his temper at a dangerous rate.

"No! No! Never! I hate this! I hate my eyes! I want to have ordinary Eyes, please God! Please!" And in a flash, the boy was gone. He just... turned into air. Vanished. Disappeared. The girl shoved her fist into her mouth to keep from screaming. That boy just... disappeared. Did he die? Is he alive? What had...?

The father of the boy yelled in frustration, "Damn it! Luhan! Come back, you runt! You just said you hated your Eyes, and then you...! Ugh, never mind. You'll regret this, Luhan." Sighing deeply and regaining his usual sly composure, he left the prison, running a hand through his hair.

Kaya could not shake away the shock she had just seen. The boy had literally disappeared into nothing before her eyes. She was sure it wasn't the heat. She was completely awake and hydrated. He didn't disappear like a normal enderman in a puff of magenta powder. No, he simply -

"Kaya? Are you okay?" She turned to see her only friend, looking through the empty hole in the wall between them and looking at her with concern. They usually had conversations by taking the loose brick out of its hole when the guard did not pay enough attention to the two prisoners. Kaya pulled her fist out of her mouth and displayed her finest smile.

Barely audible, she whispered cheerfully, putting on her facade. "I'm perfectly fine~ Why do you ask?" She cocked her head innocently.

He didn't believe her mask and replied, "But before I saw you -"

Kaya interrupted, "I want to make more paper cranes! Do you have any more paper?"

His concern turned into slight irritation in a flash. Success. "Why do you have such an... obssession with stupid paper cranes?"

She opened her mouth to speak.

"Forget it, I'm going to bed. Tell me in the morning." He slipped the stone brick perfectly back into its place, silencing the conversation. Kaya glanced quickly at the glittering moon once again before she remembered what she planned to say to him. Those three words on the tip of her tongue could have both of them killed. A bold statement that may even be unprecedented by anyone else was going to be said. Kaya had been thinking about the subject matter for a long time, and now the words were there. But... maybe she shouldn't say them? She held her breath and pulled out the brick from its slot.

"Hey, Raiden?"

"What now?"

"Let's leave together."

* * *

_*** I edited this shizz. It's now awesomer than before :D (or, at least I think it is...) And a character underwent a name change so...***_

**... So in the first chapter, we have a girl who has only ten days to live left and can turn into an old lady/four-year-old, a car accident, a goddess, another car accident with a side of murder, two teens framed for murder, a disappearing boy, and so much charcter death.**

**YEP, THIS IS ONE AWKWARD FANFIC.**

***bows* Annyeong, Philosophia speaking~! I'm a new writer here, and you may have seen my one-shot, **_**The Aether Fanclub**_**, before, so I'm not that new on here, yet I am new, yet I'm not that new since I posted a story prior to this, but it wasn't popular and barely got any attention and this is my first actual fanfiction on this website so I am new, but this isn't my first fanfic I've ever written so I'm not new -**

**You: Wha...?**

**Sorry, it's a bit complex, eheheheh ^w^" First chapter, and we already have plenty of blood. Wait until we get to the time loop section of the fanfic... *evil face* And not to mention, three character deaths. AWWWW YEAHHH. **

**Intern Rin: B-But, Philosophia! There were only two deaths: the girl in the beginning and the driver of the car!**

**Author Me: I knew she'd go insane sooner or later... (whispers to Intern Rin) Stop working for a crazy like her... anyway, you're just a character to be used in random Author Notes. You deserve better...**

**Shut it, Author Me! -_-**

**I'm not going to reveal who else died until further chapters come out. ^^ But you can guess who it is (you'll get it write, eventually [pun intended]) Oh, and it's only going to get bloody occaisionally. For now, it's bloody :P And get used to these anything-but-serious author notes at the end of each chapter...**

**If you're wondering what Idana looks like, I imagine her as Princess Fuse from Okami (my favorite game :3) Anyway, this is my latest project, and I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm glad I'm taking this journey with all of you :D Don't worry, I'm determined not to fail. This story will occaisionally have a mood swing, from downright angst to fluffy humor. H-U-M-O-R. Yeah. Humor after this bloody chapter filled with character death. *puts on sunglasses* Deal with it. xD **

**Random Question of the Chapter****: How do you think Fei and the murderer are connected? And don't think I'm gonna tell ya, even if you get the answer right. I'll never tell, heheheh! ^^**

_**_*Philosophia*_**_


	2. A Tale of Sisterly Eyes

**|..:| A Tale of Sisterly Eyes|:..|**

**|~| "I wonder if I've become their 'big sister' now..." |~|**

_Three Years Later..._

She missed him, that was for sure. After their insane, bold prison break, and then becoming neighbors in an old village for two years, of course she missed him. But now, she had responsibilities that she had to take care of. She still held on to that dumb habit of keeping things to herself rather than sharing her sadness with others, but she didn't want to spread frowns. She wanted to share happiness, which was why she was being a "big sister," taking care of her "brother and sisters." She should go find him, but to abandon them was unthinkable, since she had already grown attached to them. How was she supposed to leave these three kids who are constantly ridiculed for their Eyes? She would sometimes ponder why they had these powers. All she knew that all three were supposed to die, but somehow managed to live. Fei was struck with a metal pipe, Jia was strangled, and Flynn drowned. Fei and Jia seemed connected somehow, like they knew each other prior to when she found them, but the reason remains unclear. Flynn was part of an innocent accident, and nothing more. How could these three kids be the victim of what seemed like an aimless phenomenon?

Despite the fact she needed to take care of them, she occasionally found herself reflecting on her memories with a small smile. She managed to hold on to the nickname she gave him: Electric Boy. To her dismay, however, whenever she replayed memories in her head, his face would seem obscured, as if looking through a fog.

"Electric Boy, where are you today?" She was sure anyone who saw her "talking to herself" would be crazy, but occasionally she would talk as if he was there. For an odd reason, she felt like he could hear her. It was probably her imagination running too wildly, but she would talk like this sometimes anyway. "Are you eating well? Wah! I remember that I told you when we escaped you can eat all the meat you want, but don't get fat! Then Electric Boy would be too slow, and not lightning fast!"

Kaya suddenly picked up the sound of quiet weeping mixed with a television. It seemed to be coming from the only room with the door closed - Fei's room. She knocked on the door gently. "Fei? Are you okay?" The crying slightly quieted down. Kaya opened the door slowly to see a girl under the sheets of her bed.

"Fei! Fei, what's wrong?" Kaya asked, full of concern.

Two eyes appeared out of the sheets. Her shoulder-length hair was messy; Fei's usual hazel eyes were now stuffy and red. "T-They call me a monster!" More tears came out of her eyes. They had these types of conversations many times, but Fei never cried about it.

"That's not true! Not true at all!" She sat down on the edge of her bed.

The television interrupted them, displaying a picture of a girl in a black hoodie sprinkled with sparkling rhinestones and jean shorts. Her model body had the curves that every girl would be envious of. "Rumors have been flying around of singer Yubin Karago starring in her television first television drama! There have been some hints that the theme of her next album will be -"

"See!" Fei pointed to the television. "Why can't I be a normal person like her? She looks like the average teen, unlike me..."

Kaya grabbed the remote and with a press of a button the television screen slowly faded to black. "Fei, there's no such thing as normal. You can easily turn your weaknesses into your strengths. Even if Yubin was destined to be a star, she's just like us. Okay?"

She didn't reply.

"...Do you want some pumpkin pie?"

The sound of cicadas could be heard. Kaya stood up and quickly left the room to the kitchen. She placed a piece of pumpkin pie on a plate and scurried back into Fei's room. "Here, Fei~"

The girl looked at the dessert curiously. "F-Fork?"

"O-Oh, right! Fork! Fork! Fork!" She quickly scurried into the kitchen again and soon placed a fork next to the plate. "Here you go~"

At first, the girl looked curiously at the piece of pie, like a curious animal looking at a new for the first time. She slowly took a small bite of the pie, and with each bite the pumpkin pie began disappearing.

Fei set down her fork. "Hey, Kaya?"

"Yes?"

"If you could have any superpower, what would it be?" Note to self: Pumpkin pie is effective at changing one's mood.

She stared at the now cleaned plate with a thoughtful hum. "I think it would have to be... seeing into the future."

"How come?"

"...It just seems cool, I guess." Kaya took the plate and fork and smiled at Fei. "Let's go check on Jia and Flynn, okay?" Fei nodded in agreement, a smile on her face.

They strolled into the backyard. A fortunate summer breeze hit their faces, a few scattered leaves flying here and there. In the tall grass, a boy was poking at a green blob with a stick while a girl stood and watched curiously.

"Is it dead?"

"Of course it's dead, stupid."

"Yeesh, don't need to be so mean."

"Jia~!" Fei called. "Flynn~! What are you guys... poking?"

"I think it's a dead creeper," Flynn said with one more poke in the creature's abdomen.

"Try poking its eye," Jia recommended. Flynn shrugged and stabbed the stick into its eye.

SSSSssss...

Both Jia and Flynn leaped back from the creature. "What the hell?" Jia exclaimed. "I-It's alive!"

But if the creeper is alive, that doesn't that mean...? "Flynn! Jia! Get away from that thing!" Kaya shouted. Another threatening hiss. Jia scurried away from the creeper like a mouse, and Flynn leaped out of its way in time. With a deafening boom, the only evidence left of the creeper's existence was a small crater. Kaya breathed out a sigh of relief. That was so close...

"Both of you, never poke a creeper, even when you think it's dead." Kaya scolded. The two friends nodded slowly. Fei, however, was staring into the nearby forest intently, focusing on the darkest section.

Kaya looked curiously at the same section. "Fei...?" She didn't have to look at Fei to know her usual hazel eyes were now dyed with violet. They worked more effectively than any night-vision goggles that have ever been created by human hands. "Why are you using your Eyes?"

"...I think someone is in the forest." B-But villagers won't roam this far away from home, and in that direction is where the city is located, filled with people and... griefers.

"We need to leave," Kaya slowly said.

"What? What's happening?" asked Jia.

Kaya grabbed Fei and Flynn's arms. "Come on, Jia." They quickly rushed into the cramped house. However, Jia saw in the corner of her eye the glint of a diamond sword, and her heart was sent into a wild frenzy. The figure of a man appeared in the forest. In his hands was a diamond sword, radiantly reflecting the sunlight. An aura of familiar menace could be felt even far away from him. As if sensing her presence, he turned and made eye contact with Jia. He grinned. After three years, his vengeance for being put to prison after Jia had witnessed his crime was now possible with the diamond sword in his hand. She had also realized the fact.

Kaya quickly jerked her away from the porch and shut the door with a slam.

"Jia, are you insane or -"

"The man w-with the diamond sword is coming!" It was what Kaya feared the most: someone to harm the three people who were under her care. Flynn froze immediately, unsure what to do. Fei and Jia, despite their drastic differences, exchanged the same anxious glances. That man was coming, and he will have no mercy on them. Jia was the most apprehensive, her eyes expressing panic. Thoughts of the car accident years ago flashed through her mind abruptly, overwhelming her. How... why... he... he's free from prison?! The same man who had murdered a man right in front of her eyes. The same man who had strangled her in court, nearly ending her life. The same man who had -

POUND POUND POUND POUND POUND POUND.

All faces turned to the wooden door, the man continuing to hammer the weak door down. Fear constricted around them like a serpent, choking them until they could no longer move, no longer breathe. Kaya did not know which was louder: the sound of merciless pounding on their front door or her frantically hammering heart.

Kaya quickly turned towards Jia, Flynn, and Fei as the pounding persisted. "Flynn," she said, "Find a spot to hide with Jia and Fei. When I leave the house, go to the cavern near the plains up ahead."

"W-What? What about you?"

She forced a smile to appear across her face, but it was as fake as the lie she told to passers-by that protected them, claiming they had "normal eyes." "Don't worry, I'll catch up. Now go hide." Flynn nodded and surveyed the house for any hiding places. Finally, he went into the small closet and looked at Jia and Fei. Jia followed him into the cramped closet.

"Kaya!" Two arms hugged her from behind, accompanied by the sound of sniffling.

Kaya stroked Fei's hair. "Don't worry, I'll be back." Fei looked at her one last time before hiding with Flynn and Jia in the closet, closing the door silently.

It was just like the games of Hide and Seek they used to play when the three were younger, but now if they were found, they would lose more than the game. The door finally snapped in two like a twig. In front of Kaya stood the man, a newly shined diamond sword eager for blood.

"Give everything first and keep your mouth shut if the authorities arrive."

"How about," Kaya looked at the man innocently, "we play a game of Cat and Mouse?" The man looked perplexed at the seventeen-year-old.

"Just give me the damn iron!" he threatened.

"Not until you catch me first~!" she said in her singsong voice, the same voice that she used to tease -

The man lunged forward, diamond sword in hand. Kaya narrowly thwarted his strike, causing the man to yell in frustration. She teasingly beamed, "I know you can do better than that!" He sent another swipe with his sword at her, which she avoided.

"Close, but no cigar!" She stuck out her tongue playfully, which only caused the man to try even harder. I need to protect them. I have to. I must. He stabbed forward, this time creating a tear in her dress. The tempo of her frantic heart increased in speed. Wait, don't panic! It's just like dancing, just calm down. Calm down...

"Come on, it's all in the wrists! The wrists~!" She was not sure if she sounded as confident as she wished. He missed once again, accidentally colliding into a table. Rubbing his head, he glared at Kaya. She jumped out into the doorway. With a playful wink, she giggled, "Catch me if you can~!" She ran out the door, the man chasing her. A vain game of Cat Chase Mouse. The man made another swipe toward her torso, causing her to jump back in alarm.

"Ooh~ Close! Very close!" Maybe she would be able to live and see Flynn, Jia, and Fei once again. Maybe she would be able to live and see snow fall once again. And maybe, just maybe, after two years, she'll finally get to see Raiden one last time.

She took a step backwards once again. Instead of feeling the uneven earth under her shoe, however, she felt air. Realizing her fatal mistake a bit too late, she grabbed for something, anything, to stop her from falling but only managed to brush her hand at a flat part of the ravine. She heard air whiz by her ears as she fell. The cliff quickly became smaller with each passing second. Looking down from the same spot where she was previously standing in was the man, diamond sword still nestled in his hand.

Contact. The ravine was significantly shorter than she had expected, but it still sent waves of pain into her body. She felt as if she were a ragdoll, its young owner hitting it against a wall. Pain quickly rippled through her body, and she was sure she broke at least one bone. Her head was banged by hammers. With a groan, she glanced up at the cliff. The man was nowhere to be seen, probably trying to find a path into the ravine.

But she couldn't give up now! There was still hope, right?

Right?

She scrambled to get up and escape, only to find that her left leg and right arm could not feel the cold stone under them. Numb. She heard footsteps echo through the ravine. No, no, this isn't how it's supposed to end. Stories always have happy endings! This can't be right, she'll escape. Isn't that what always happens in stories? The only way out was a cavern that lead into the forest. If she was fast enough...

Without a single hesitation in mind, she scurried into the cavern. Rattles of bones and hisses of creepers filled the air. Turning left and right, she blindly tore through the cavern. She was sure a zombie was stomping around nearby, that must be the reason why she is hearing such rapid footsteps. In the darkness, she could faintly see the stairs that would lead to the outside world. Kaya dashed forward quickly, tossing behind any suspecting feelings that a monster was trailing behind her, or something far worse than a monster. Her footsteps were echoed throughout the entire cavern.

Finally, she had spotted daylight. Silently praying, she rose from the ravine. The forest seemed tranquil. The melodic tweeting of birds were chorused. It seemed as if nothing happened. The man was nowhere to be seen. Kaya sighed in relief, permitting a smile to appear on her face. She had escaped the man, and Jia, Fei, and Flynn were safe and sound as well. In the light summer wind, the trees seemed to be applauding her. This is the happy ending she was hoping for.

It was until she felt the tip of a sword press against her back.

His menacing voice made Kaya slightly shiver. "You know, I'm not that dumb. You shouldn't make so much noise when running away."

Panic began to settle into her.

"Do you know why?" he asked in a tone as if scolding a child. "Do you know why you're going to die?"

"... You're full of hate. That's why."

"Yes..." the man agreed. "But you know there are reasons to hate someone, correct?"

Kaya refused to reply.

"Do you know who I am?"

The sound of leaves brushing against each other was his only reply.

"... Ah, I see. So you don't want to know?"

"It's not that I don't want to know. It's because I already know."

"Ah, so you know that Jia put me in jail three years ago?"

Kaya nodded.

"Well, then, aren't you afraid that you're going to die?"

She saw the fleeting figures of three children in the corner of her eye and smiled. _Good job, Flynn._ "No," she said. "I'm not afraid."

He scoffed, "Foolish girl."

_I... I wonder..._

_I wonder if I've become their "big sister" now..._

* * *

Silence. In their lives, there was not a more intoxicating silence than this. It slowly began poison them, sending a chemical known as "fear" flowing through their veins that turned their calm breaths into abrupt quivering. Jia could not stand it any longer. She stood up and took a step forward, the sound resonating through the damp cave. "I can't take it any more..." Each breath felt like another step towards a tragedy, but Jia kept on going. She needed to know. Flynn followed her, Fei trailing behind.

The blinding light of the sun did not matter, nor the intense heat. Each step became more anxious, more frantic, more paranoid. Worst case scenarios flooded into her head. Images of a suffering Kaya were too much to bear. But they were also impossible. Kaya wouldn't really die, right? She was too skilled. She escaped from zombies several times. This man would be challenging to escape from, but not impossible for Kaya. Even these reassuring thoughts could not calm Jia. Almost instinctively, she began to rush through the brush of tall grass. She tripped and her knee collided into a sharp rock. Jia didn't care. Brushing off dirt from her legs, she continued sprinting.

She passed their small cottage. She passed the ravine. No sign of Kaya anywhere, until she neared the forest to see...

Was that...? No, that can't be right. The heat had finally gotten to her. Then again, this was too... probable. She tore forward, until she saw the sight clearly with her own eyes in front of her.

Kaya, the person who found them abandoned and decided to take care of them, died. Kaya, the person who had took care of them for two years, died. Kaya, the only person who believed in their Eyes, died. Her torso was stabbed several times, each time dying her clothes a dark scarlet. She was slumped up under the shade of a tree. Although Jia was sure the heat was driving her insane, it seemed that there were traces of a faint smile on her lips. She always said she wanted to smile when she died...

Two sides of her bickered: one believing the sight, and another refusing to face reality.

_No, this must be another dream. _That's what you said about the murder three years ago._ The heat is making me like this_. Stop making excuses. _This is not... this can't... _It can happen, and it did.

And the grinning sun continued to beam as if mocking, "She won't come back, and the world will continue smiling!" A gale of wind hit her, nearly knocking her off-balance. _The wind is too strong! _Another strike of the wind, harder this time. She heard footsteps of Flynn and Fei grow louder before the world melted into darkness. Jia thought she saw the figure of a man holding a sword and an armful of iron ingots sprint away from the area before falling under the spell of the summer haze.

* * *

**R.I.P. MY FEELS.**

***bows* Annyeong, Philosophia speaking~!**

**I need a cool group name for this story in the near future, so do you have any ideas for me? It needs to have key words like purple/violet or eyes. ^^ I'll credit you ;) I was thinking Violet Voices, but it's sucky, I know, I know. orz There will be both boys and girls in the group so I feel that's "Violet Voices" is too girly for them... orz **

**Without the "This isn't real" part, this chapter adds up to around 3,000 words excluding the AN, so you can't sue me for doing that part to increase my word count on here. BOOM. CHECKMATE, FLAMERS. OHHHHHHHH -  
**

***ahem* Wah... shizz got COMPLICATED. O_O If it's confusing, then I'll be glad to clear up stuff to you via PM. But not stuff like, "How in the potato did Kaya and Raiden escape from prison? :o -le gasp-" because that question will be answered later... meheheheh...**

**Also, hey you! *points* No, not the person behind you! You, there, with the computer/mobile device! Yeah, you! You better remember that girl, Yubin Karago, that was on TV! Yah, you better remember her, 'cause she's making a COMEBACK! OH YEAH! AND IT'S GUNNA BE BETTER THAN ALL OF THE K-POP GROUPS YOU CAN NAME COMBINED (I'm pretty sure the number will be zero for most of you who have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about o3o)**

**NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE FUNNY. I SWEAR. I KNOW, THIS **_**IS **_**ANGSTY, BUT BEAR WITH MEH, HERE! *arrested for caps lock abuse*  
**

**- From here, the author note is super random. You have been warned. -**

**... I CAN FINALLY LISTEN TO HAPPY MUSIC. DO YOU KNOW MUCH I MADE MYSELF DEPRESSED ON PURPOSE FOR THIS? *music* Da da da da da da narul ttarawabwa~ bwa~ Do do do do do do naega michyobwa Babeh~ (it's K-Pop, don't judge me)**

**Fun Fact: We have three dead characters roaming around like zombies, except they're smarter than that. And I will never tell you who they are, but you probably already know who they are. OR DO YOU? *dramatic face***

**Fun Fact: I am insane. Oh, yeah, now the Random Question of the Chapter. Uhm... Intern Rin? Line?**

**Intern Rin: Oh yeah, got it! *types stuff quickly***

_**Odil gana hamsong soriga saramdul ibeso~ I'm ta-ta-ta-talkin' baby! Juwien hangsang dasuye lady~**_

**... Intern Rin, that's my K-Pop file -_-**

**Intern Rin: Oops, eheheheh ^^;**

**Random Question of the Chapter:**** How do you think Yubin will appear in the story? LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN FREE LIKE WILD HORSES MADE OF CUPCAKES GALLOPING INTO THE SUNSET WITH ROCK MUSIC IN THE BACKROUND, YEAHHHHHH! **

**... I really, really need to stop listening to random music when writing A/Ns owo;; I just feel so chatty because I've been listening to only tragic ballads and writing depressing shizz, and I can add so much meaningless, random happy shizz to A/Ns, okay? ;_; INTERN RIN, CONSOLE MEH.**

_**_*Philosophia*_**_


	3. A Tale of Meeting Eyes Part 1

**I worked hard this chapter. It'll be mind-blowingly awesome when Flynn uses his power (WHICH IS TOTALLY BADASS BY THE WAY). That, and I shall make you more confused in this chapter. AHAHAHAHHAAH -**

***bows* Annyeong, Philosophia speaking~**

**If feel like this chapter is short. It's only 4016 words long, that's not a lot at all!**

**Why did this take so long, you ask? I was too busy fangirling - I mean, writing a fluffy chapter for a fanfic on a different website and for some reason it took forever. OTL **

**I AM SUCH A TERRIBLE PERSON FOR LEAVING YOU FOR A WHILE SINCE MY LAST UPDATE BUT ITS NOT THAT LONG TO A LOT OF YOU (I THINK) /shot**

**Gosh I really want my favorite character to appear so much, but he won't be here until the next chapter (uhm... I count chapters in a weird way, just watch T^T #firstworldwriterproblems - Yay that hashtag doesn't exist.**

**UNTIL NOW. *world explodes***

**... I'm so sorry I caused the apocalypse.**

**Changed the cover image. To attract more attention. *shrugs* AND IF THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU'VE SEEN THIS STORY BECAUSE THE COVER IMAGE LOOKED INTERESTING YOU TOTALY FELL FOR MY TRAP NOW YOU MUST READ THE FANFIC AHAHHAHA - *ahem* By the way, Yubin Karago, the girl from the television in the previous chapter, won't be in the fanfic. I changed my mind xD Don't ask. I just thought she would kinda be a useless character, like she would just stand there and not get any lines, so... yeah ._.**

**Some of these chapters will be seperated into parts. Each "chapter" focuses on one or two main characters and are made up of multiple chapters. If that made sense. OH YEAH. THAT'S RIGHT. I DON'T FOLLOW THE NORMAL PROCEDURE. OH. OH. WHAT YOU GUNNA DO NOW, HUH? HUH? *world explodes. Again.***

**After this, I'm going to focus on a one-shot. If you want to know what it's about, you can look at my profile for a bit of the summary. It's the one about the grasshopper and the ant ^^ When I finish that one, I'll get back on this one! I think the Aether Fanclub could be okay as a two-shot for now, and then when I have more time (and when the fanfic nears its end WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE UNTIL 2035) I'll focus on AF a bit more, maybe even make it a multi-chappie. Now, on to the chappie!**

**New Philosophia Vocab: Chappie (n.) CHA-pee. Def: A chapter. Philosophia just wanted to be special when in reality she's lame and and has no social life except for digital ones.**

**|..:| A Tale of Meeting Eyes | Part 1 |:..|**

**|~| "Yeah... yeah, I guess I **_**am**_** lost too, heheh."|~|**

She never liked the dark. There was something... poisonous about it, something that made her fear the dark. Could it had been the ominous feeling she got when she tried to see what was hiding in the darkness, or was it the insecure feeling that something may be lurking behind its dark curtains? It was only natural - Whatever it was, she disliked - no, despised - the dark.

It was an irrational fear, of course, but every once in a while, she would turn a light on at night so she wouldn't have to face the dreaded blanket that shielded her view. It was danger that make the idea so frightening. When she turned on the light, would her life be the same, or will something rise from the dark and alter it forever? She never liked nighttime.

Jia had overcome her foolish fear years ago, but now she was completely cornered. Her old fear had crept on her during her weakest state. Wherever she turned, she was only met with darkness. It was exactly like nighttime, except there wasn't the faint moonlight to guide her, or the artificial light emitting from nearby torches. Of course she was surrounded, because she had lost consciousness. She lost consciousness because...

"Jia! Jia, do you want to see the snow outside?"

That voice was unmistakable. She could never mistake nor forget that gentle, sisterly voice, but she still found it difficult to believe.

"It's the first snowfall of the year~"

But that voice...

"Jia! Jia! Are you listening?"

The voice's owner is no longer alive.

A single spotlight lit up under an eighteen-year-old. She didn't look at her. Even from her back, she could tell that it was her, with her unmistakable purple headband. The spotlight seemed to be blinding to her against the dark background, but she ran towards Kaya with her arm stretched out.

"Kaya! Kaya!"

The figure didn't turn around at her voice, but she continued to run into the spotlight. When her fingertips brushed against her shoulder, everything was engulfed by the bright white of the spotlight.

Her memories instantly replayed themselves in her head like an old noir film.

* * *

Banished. Well, it was sort of like that. They were afraid of her, and avoided her if possible, so it was about the same, wasn't it? It was rumored she was a monster, perhaps even a disguised demon from the Nether. So one day someone decided to do a "favor" to the community by shoving her into a truck and kicking her off into the forest along with her rival who was also the most popular topic for gossipers around the neighborhood. What a perfect day to not have their cell phones.

Most of the time, they walked in silence, occasionally shooting a glare at the other. The words she muttered to herself before testifying as a witness echoed in her head. "All of this for the sake of justice." What justice? After standing up as a witness and even getting strangled, she is rewarded by being ridiculed and despised and feared to the point of being kicked into the middle of the forest with her rival. Exiled, banished, call it whatever you will. She was innocent. She didn't deserve this. The girl next to her, however...

The way her innocent, blue-green eyes shined annoyed her. The way her long, straight hair with hints of red that made boys swoon annoyed her. Everything about her annoyed her. Jia had never met another person in her life that irritated her so much, and doubt that she would find someone who could even be compared to the level Fei's very presence that made her insides rot. It was as if someone took everything cliché about teenage females and squished it together into one girl. She was exactly like those damn perfect girls she's read in fairy tales: naïve, lacking any unique personality traits, and practically drowning in the color pink. Her frilly pink skirt fluttered in the wind, and the fake diamonds on her pink shirt sparkled under the sun, attracting the attention away from her pink ribbon hat.

Fei shattered the silence between them into a thousand pieces recklessly. "... It's getting dark."

Jia could not refrain from snapping back at her. "Thank you for that very keen observation. I couldn't possible notice that, because I'm way to stupid since I can't even pass that easy test to get into Kirin High School."

Silence once again reigned after her verbal attack. Although she had snapped back at her, she mentally admitted Fei was correct. The sky was slowly melting away and transforming into night. In this world, night was a completely different world from the one they commonly knew, treacherous and hostile creatures temporarily plaguing the land. As soon as night fell, death was guaranteed. Both could agree that dying once is already painful enough. Enduring it one more time wouldn't guarantee they would come back with their lives once again with some sort of miracle.

The gently trickle of water could be heard. The soil under their feet was moist. Up ahead, Jia could see a river and... a figure.

Her hammering heart was restless. It was exactly like the scene of a horror movie: the heroine and her rival trek alone in the forest and see the sight of a figure. That night, their corpses were found. Well, what you could call corpses, for their bodies were such a bloody mess that it was impossible to differentiate who was the owner of the body. The figure turned its head toward them, seeing the two trembling in fear.

If this was really a horror movie, Jia would like to stop all screenings of the show.

Fei's shrieked filled the air, and Jia focused her eyes at the figure. Instantly, all traces of dark brown in her eyes vanished and was replaced by a vibrant violet. She had only used her power once before, and whenever she used it, she felt like a monster. This was the reason she was called "The Disguised Demon." This was not normal. This was not normal at all. Only endermen possess these Eyes, and even they don't use them the same way she can. Jia saw the world differently. Menacing characters and heroic characters may seem to play the same part if one merely glances at their profile, but she can determine the difference with her two Eyes. An aura separates one from the other, depending on its color. It was as if she had known the meanings of the colors all along, as if she had known them since she was born instead of abnormally gaining this knowledge via... via what, exactly?

With her Eyes, she looked at the dark figure from far away. She expected a clear, obvious answer, but instead she saw cluster of colors orbiting him. Violet, hazel, turquoise, burnt orange. All of those colors melted together like a messy painting. It was impossible to decipher the meaning of the colors, and Jia quickly looked astonished at the figure. What... what did this mean? If it was pitch black, or scarlet, or ash gray, this person would make you be wary of him. But this... this was a collision of emotions and personalities, as if the figure was ten people in one body.

"Who are you?" she asked, hoping that she had sounded more powerful and demanding than her real self, her cowardly self.

The figure cocked its head to the side curiously.

"Who are you?!" She raised her voice even louder.

It slowly raised his hands up, signaling it would not be harmful. "Am... Am I supposed to remember you?"

"I said, _who are you?"_

"Um... my name is Flynn?"

Keeping its hands up, the figure slowly walked forward to the two. Fei shrieked again, and Jia's hands began to quake. She quickly grabbed a long branch and pointed at him. "If you even dare...!"

As the figure approached them, she realized that he was not to be feared. In fact, with her makeshift weapon in hand, she was more menacing to him than he previously was to her. His clothes were dripping with water, his black hair even darker now that he was wet. The boy was around the same age as her, his posture aggressively poor. His eyes gave off a lost, confused expression, similar to how a small child looks when lost in a grocery store. It appeared he was somehow in school, for his soaked clothes were a school uniform.

Jia tightened her grip on the rough branch, her mental stone wall up. There was no possible chance to let her guard down now, oh no. For all she knows, there could be a shining knife in his pocket. That was one rule she follows: in this world, never pity for anyone. On average, 155,000 people die each day. There is no room for sympathy if you are going to mourn each and every death. You don't want to become one of those 155,000 people when it's not your assigned due date, now, do you?

Fei gently pushed the large branch down, making it point towards the ground. "I'm sorry. It's just that... we've just been kind of 'exiled' from our homes. Please forgive her."

"No problem, I guess." Jia still held on tightly to the branch.

"Jia, put down the branch," Fei whispered. She hesitated, shooting a suspicious glare at him, but finally decided that a confused boy isn't very dangerous and set the branch down on the grass. She also forced her Eyes to eventually melt away to its original brown color, still shooting mental daggers at the boy in suspicion.

"Why are you dripping wet?" Fei asked with her friendly voice. Jia looked away from the boy.

"... I don't know, to be honest. I drowned, I-I guess."

"You don't know at all?"

"Nope."

"What about where you came from? Like, what city are you from?"

"Um... I remember my mom."

"And?"

"Something about a house. And a book. Why are you even...? Do I know you or something?"

"No, this is the first time you've seen us."

"Oh."

Jia was about to hiss a comment at the teen when she realized something. "Hey, how come you didn't panic when you saw my Eyes?"

"Your eyes are normal."

She gave him a look of confusion. "But... they were purple just a few minutes ago. Didn't you see that?"

He nodded calmly. "Yeah. Isn't that normal? I had them too, but then they faded away for some reason."

Both girls stared astonished at the mysterious young man. He had Eyes? But... how did he have them? And what could they do? And how- why- when- what...?

He noticed their confusion. "I looked at my reflection. I saw my eyes were purple, and then time seemed to stop." He shrugged his shoulders. "Or something like that."

"What's you're name?"

"Flynn. How about you?"

She nudged Jia's shoulder. "My name is Fei, and she's..." She paused for Jia to announce her name.

"Jia," she growled.

"That's rude," Fei scolded her like a child.

Flynn looked at the sky that was being dyed dark colors. "Can I stay at your house? Just for a little bit?"

Both rivals exchanged the same glanced, and turned back to him. "We don't have a home," Fei informed.

"Shit, it's night," Jia said, panic slightly creeping upon her. Her words were true. The sun had completed its daily tour of the world and a dim, gray crescent took its place. It was cool and windy; the rustling of leaves could be faintly heard if you focused hard enough. Jia could see a small fog form under her nose when she exhaled. It was amazing how the temperature could drop so drastically in such a short amount of time.

Rubbing her shoulders for any sort of warmth, Jia kicked a stone with her foot. "I'm going to go search for some sort of village while you guys can socialize and get eaten by zombies." Looking back at the branch, she decided it would be wise to carry at least the piece of wood in case they would be ambushed by a gang of zombies. She picked the branch up once again, shaking off a few ants that had managed to climb onto it.

She walked toward the forest until a thought made her freeze like a statue.

That old fear of darkness came back to her again in the form of a forest, right at the moment where paranoia and confusion were at their strongest in Jia's mind. For some reason, she couldn't find the courage to even step forward. That day sent uncomfortable shivers down her spine.

She prayed that zombies would not be wielding any metal pipes on this night.

Suppressing the urge to flee, she forced her legs to stagger forward into the darkness. Fei followed her, Flynn trailing behind her like a lost puppy. She mentally groaned. So I'm the damn leader now? Perfect. Just perfect. With clenched fists, she marched through the darkness. Brittle leaves crunch noisily under her feet as she vainly searched for even one light emitting from even one house. If she could find a house somewhere she would beg for their hospitality. All they had to do was hide their Eyes. There were still good people in the world, right?

A groan was heard, but she quickly shooed it away. The groan was heard again, now accompanied by the rattle of bones, and although she pushed it away from her mind, it still lingered in her thoughts like an itch. A hiss was all it took to send her imagination to depict gory images of beasts. Of course there had been frightening tales that were told to children to scare them away from the forest, but she had simply dismissed them as false until one day a zombie managed to get into her house and split the door into two pieces when she was only three. She managed to hide in a locked closet, however, her parents...

"Jia," Fei said, fearfully looking this way and that. "You... you know I have them, right? Eyes?"

She nodded in response.

"M-My Eyes can see in the dark. Sort of like night vision goggles. Except it looks exactly like it would be during the daytime."

"Show me, then."

Literally in one blink, Fei's eyes displayed a vibrant shade of purple, drowning any traces of her usual blue-green eye color.

_Huh, so she's not so useless after all. _

Flynn inspected her Eyes. "Wow, so this is normal?"

Jia shot another mental dagger at him, this time dipped in poison. "No, we're in this situation because of these damn Eyes we have. Whatever you do, don't show your Eyes to anyone. Ever." She sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Fei, lead the way."

With a quick nod, Fei walked ahead of the two, searching for any dangers ahead. The three abandoned teenagers continued to trek through the forest. So far, Fei hadn't seen anything they should be wary of. The occasional sheep or pig or cow rustled against a bush and almost made Jia shriek at one point, but after a while, they began to relax their muscles a bit. So... where are the monsters everyone feared?

Actually, it was quite boring and dull. She had expected one of those epic chase scenes in films, but instead she got searching for . And, to be honest, a tiny, tiny bit of her wanted a bit more of action. Maybe an apple would drop to scare them or something, or maybe a tiny spider the size of her hand crawl all over someone, preferably Fei, but Flynn's reaction would be satisfactory as well. Something should happen.

And she decided she would, by innocently extracting a bit of vengeance upon her fellow rival.

A mischievous glint in her eyes, she came behind Fei and pushed her. With a shriek, she stumbled a bit before regaining her balance. Whipping around, Fei expected to see an aggressive beast bent on pouncing on her, but sighed when she saw Jia, laughing with a triumphant grin.

"Real mature, Jia."

"I-I'm sorry! I just couldn't resist!" she laughed heartily, wiping away an imaginary tear. She looked up at Fei, but instead her attention was drawn at something else that was slowly approaching them with slow steps.

"You know, if I had a sword or something and you did that to me, I could've accidentally -"

With her trembling hand, she pointed to a groaning person, its skin a bit more greener than it should've been. A revolting scent filled the air. The zombie stretched its rotting arms toward Fei, craving for a taste of human flesh. Fei turned and took a step backward, falling on her back. She scrambled back up quickly, narrowly dodging the zombie's attempt to grab her ankle with an iron grip.

Jia shut her eyes and tightened her grip on the branch in her hands. Thrusting the branch into its head, Jia struck the zombie in the head with her makeshift weapon, sending it flying into a nearby tree. It groaned loudly, calling for help. Several other sounds of a variety of creatures were returned. All three knew what it meant.

"Run, run, run, run, run!" Jia repeated before tearing off into the opposite direction. The stealthy crawling of spiders and the marching of zombies pursued them, with the occasionally arrow whizzing past them.

Fei pointed as she avoided a log. "Flynn! Your left!"

Flynn leapt forward, successfully evading a spider's fangs.

Three figures of teens weaved through the labyrinth-like forest: one in flashy, pink clothing, one in a soaked school uniform, and one in a red baseball cap.

Branches and twigs got in their way, but they quickly flew through them, snapping them in half in the process. The path of dirt ahead of them blurred below them. Fei's heartbeat was frantically pumping as much blood as it could to help strengthen her. She was sure a zombie's hand brushed against her.

She ran forward until something pulled her back from her waist. She looked behind her to see a small, sharp twig stabbed through her skirt. Fei tugged on it to pull away from the branch, but it resisted stubbornly. The chorus of moans began to grow louder and louder with each ticking second.

"Come on! Come on!"

Finally, the branch could no longer protest against her attempts to free her skirt and released its grip.

Not before a zombie grasped her arm.

"No! Let go!" she screamed, violently jerking her arm away from the zombie's grip. It eyed her arm and bore its teeth onto her arm, sending a wave of pain to flood through her arm.

"Let go!"

She reared her foot backwards and sent it flying at the zombie's leg. The zombie loosened its grip on her arm and jerked it free. Fei ignored something wet that was sliding down her arm as she fled from the zombies and caught up with Flynn and Jia. Through her violet Eyes, she spotted a nearby, abandoned mineshaft. Webs adorned the entrance, and rusted rails lead into its darkness. Two doors were oddly placed in front of the mineshaft. "In there!" she yelled, diving into the mineshaft. Jia and Flynn quickly followed her in before shutting the doors. Immediately, zombies began to pound upon the door relentlessly, the center beginning to bulge ever so slightly with each blow. Dust puffed out from the frame in a cloud.

Fei clutched her wound with her hand, wincing. Jia inspected the wound, struggling to suppress a gasp of horror.

Surrounding the wound was a faint, dull green that was spreading slowly.

"F-Fei... I think you're turning into...!"

Fei's breathing became more urgent, filled with panic and disbelief. "No, no, no, I'm not, I'm not turning into one. I'm not, I'm not!" She looked at the bite again, slowly understanding it wasn't a fantasy. "I... I can't..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Fei noticed Flynn facing away from them. There he stood, calmly inhaling and exhaling repeatedly in a smooth pattern in front of the door that was breaking.

"Hey, Flynn, what are you -"

* * *

A mischievous glint in her eyes, Jia came behind Fei and pushed her. With a shriek, she stumbled a bit before regaining her balance. Whipping around, Fei expected to see an aggressive beast bent on pouncing on her, but sighed when she saw Jia, laughing with a triumphant grin.

"Real mature, Jia."

_So it worked._

"I-I'm sorry! I just couldn't resist!" she laughed heartily, wiping away an imaginary tear.

_It really did work._

Neither of them noticed Flynn looking curiously at his surroundings and mainly focusing on his breathing.

_I'm not crazy. It worked._

When it happened the first time, he didn't believe it. He thought it was simply because he had lost his memory of what happened to him. He thought it was a normal symptom of someone who has amnesia. He knew he had amnesia, because when he attempted to recall what had happened to him, he only remembered blurry, incomprehensible scenes. Honestly, he really didn't know what happened to him. He just found himself in the river. He walked out of the shallow river, and peered into his reflection of the river. When he saw his Eyes in the reflection, he would suddenly become dizzy, and his vision slightly blurred. After his vision became clear once again, he found himself in the river.

Again, he walked out of the shallow river, and peered into his reflection of the river. When he saw his Eyes in the reflection, he would suddenly become dizzy, and his vision slightly blurred. After his vision became clear once again, he found himself in the river.

Again, he walked out of the shallow river, and peered into his reflection of the river. When he saw his Eyes in the reflection, he would suddenly become dizzy, and his vision slightly blurred. After his vision became clear once again, he found himself in the river.

This process repeated a couple times, then a few times, then several times until he was sure he was stuck in an infinite repetition of the same actions every time he saw his own Eyes.

It was almost as if he had gone back in time by five minutes.

Eventually, he learned that he could calm himself down. Simple and solid breathing exercises allowed him to suppress and even temporarily make his concerns and worries vanish.

Although they would experience a bit of _d__éjà vu, _Fei and Jia were completely unaware of what would happen in the future. Flynn, however, knew every detail and every order of events that would fall upon them.

_A zombie comes near Fei and frightens her.  
_

Jia pointed a trembling finger at the rotting figure of a person approaching them - or what was a person.

_Fei runs away, and Jia hits the zombie with the tree branch._

Jia shut her eyes and tightened her grip on the branch in her hands. Thrusting the branch into its head, Jia struck the zombie in the head with her makeshift weapon, sending it flying into a nearby tree.

_It would call for help after being attacked by Jia._

It groaned loudly, calling for help. Several other sounds of a variety of creatures were returned. All three knew what it meant.

_Jia would scream, telling us to run._

"Run, run, run, run, run!" Jia repeated before tearing off into the opposite direction. The stealthy crawling of spiders and the marching of zombies pursued them, with the occasionally arrow whizzing past them.

_And then Fei's skirt would get tangled on a branch._

Fei was about to turn a corner at the same tree her skirt would be tangled in when Flynn pulled her away. "Run this way."

"Why?" she panted.

"Not a good time to ask me that." He gently pushed Fei in front of him. "Stay in front of me."

Fei looked at him with a confused, almost aggravated look, but quickly nodded before dashing forward.

As he ran, he sighed in relief. He had successfully prevented Fei being bitten by a zombie. He had successfully avoided death.

He had successfully turned back time.

* * *

**Admit it, that time thing was awesome c:  
**

_**Maybe an apple drop to scare them or something, or maybe a tiny spider the size of her hand crawl all over someone, preferably Fei, but Flynn's reaction would be satisfactory as well.**_

**Me: JIA YOU FREAKING SADIST! AS THE AUTHOR, THAT'S **_**MY **_**JOB TO BE SADISTIC TO MY CHARACTERS, NOT YOU. *pouty face***

**Random Question of the Chapter:**** Which power would you like to have: Fei's power (Seeing Eyes, AKA Night Vision), Jia's power (Aura Perceiving) or Flynn's power (Time... reverse... thingy...)? :D I'm sure most of you would choose Flynn's power xD (Come on, night vision is useless. YOU SAW HOW SHE GOT BITTEN BY A ZOMBIE)**

**Bonus Question of the Chapter:**** DO YOU LOVE MEH, DO YOU LOVE MEH, DO YOU LOVE MEH LIKE THE WAY I LOVE YOU BABBEEEE~~**

**What? I love that song. 2NE1! Blackjack forever ^^**

_**_*Philosophia*_**_


	4. A Tale of Meeting Eyes Part 2

**AND EVERYONE IS GOING TO SHIP FEI WITH A DANG ENDERMAN EVEN THOUGH I DON'T CONSIDER HER SHIPPED WITH ANYONE (although in a future chapter you'll ship her with another guy even though I consider them as jolly, good friends owo;)**

**|..:| A Tale of Friendly Eyes | Part Two |:..|**

**|~| "Yeah... yeah, I guess I **_**am **_**lost too, heheh. |~|**

"Don't hurt them. If you do, you can say goodbye to the Overworld and say hello to your aunt in the End. Do you understand?"

Standing tall like a dark-purple tower, an enderman emitted gentle purple dust as it stood in front of its shorter superior. It made a garbled sound with a negative, rebellious tone.

"What do you...?! I know humans are terrible, but they're my creations, just like you. Don't give me that attitude. Be glad you turned out better than..." She sighed in frustration, reminded of her green explosive failures. "Yeah. Just be glad you have a brain to think with."

The enderman looked around, distracted by a -

"Hey! Do you hear me?"

It abruptly averted its attention from the butterfly and aimed its attention back to Idana.

"Look, I agree that their destructive. And I agree they always kill your siblings. I know that, and I deeply sympathize. But these... these are different." Or, at least I hope they are, she added mentally. "They're in trouble right now, so you should go help them. Okay?"

More purple glitter sparked away from the creature as it glared at the ground stubbornly. However, Idana had a sense that his mental, supposedly made of obsidian wall was slowly chipping away. All that was needed was an incentive.

"... Want to go visit the Aether? I heard the weather there is pleasant this time of year."

The enderman reluctantly made a noise, similar to when a child unwillingly agrees to clean his room. The creature was about to teleport away when the goddess quickly added in:

"Oh! And tell your brothers and sisters about this, okay?"

After those words were said and comprehended, the only evidence of the enderman's presence in Idana's world were a few falling Ender particles.

* * *

The dizzying world rushed beneath her feet in a blur. Desperately panting for gulps of air, her lungs felt like they were on the verge of collapsing. In the end, no matter how much she tried to pressure herself to run faster, her legs were equal to a rag doll's flimsy limbs. No matter how much air she took in, her lungs greedily begged for more and more.

But she had to continue. She had to. Or else she'd be ripped to shreds. For an odd, unknown reason, she felt that something extremely bad and perhaps even life-threatening had happened to her a few minutes ago, but she was safe. If "safe" was considered being pursued by the fauna of the forest.

The sweat that had accumulated on her face was as if someone had poured a bucket filed to the brim with a smelly liquid. She had never liked running when she was at school. The stickiness and just overall repulsiveness of sweat made her gag.

If there's one thing that she hated at school besides school itself, it was physical education. And for every other subject, she did well, but she always deeply believed she could do better. She could do a lot better. Something inside her would ask, "Is this really, really the very best you can do?" But that was satisfactory. Wasn't that enough for her? "That's not enough, oh no. Not enough at all! You can't pass, you must excel. Look at everyone else. They easily score perfectly on test that you narrowly pass with a B+. Unacceptable. You have to study more. Perhaps your parents abandoned you because you're so stupid." No, only her father did. Her mother was - "No one cares."

She didn't like that voice. She never did. But that voice was always burdening her, accompanying her with every step she took. Even now, it was continuing to scream out the word "run" repetitively, forcing her fatigued muscles to charge forward.

Fei mentally shouted at the voice in her mind, I won't break! I won't let myself break down!

Gritting her teeth, she charged forward.

Suddenly, she rammed herself forward and collided into something, and instead of feeling the rough texture of wood against her skin, she felt something... alive.. However, the figure didn't feel like the normal Minecrafter skin. It felt rather... scaly. Sort of like a serpent's scales, or an enderman's...

Fei lifted her head at the creature and gazed at its deep, glowing eyes.

Static.

That was the sound her ears were supposed to be flooded with, but it wasn't like that. Instead of gaping its jaw and fury sparking in his eyes, it seemed rather calm. It looked up behind her at the beasts crawling towards her. Putting a scaly hand on her shoulder, it teleported away in a puff of purple smoke - with her.

When she opened her eyes, she was far away from the pursuit. From the hill she was now standing in, if she strained her Eyes enough, she could faintly trace the outlines of a few creatures still groaning/skittering/chattering their bones. A spider here, a creeper there, and the occasional skeleton. She turned towards the enderman, immediately remembering Flynn and Jia's faces full to the brim with fear and paranoia.

She didn't know why, but she had this subtle but obvious feeling that she should trust this enderman. Perhaps... a deus ex machina?

Fei balled her hands into fists and swallowed as she gathered her courage to speak.

"T-There's... still more people. I-In the forest. There's this... uh, guy and girl. They're the s-same age as, uh, me. So can you t-try to save them as well?

At first, the enderman glared at her, if they could glare. Eventually, it seemed as if he muttered a garbled noise similar to a "fine" before vanishing in several ender particles, leaving Fei with the words "thank you" dangling in her tongue.

For the first time, she noticed how heavily she was breathing. She glanced back at the massive forest that seemed endless, earning its notorious name, Endless Forest.

Wow, she must've run a lot.

Fatigued from the near-fatal chase, she hugged her knees to her chest, closing her eyes.

"I'm okay... I'm okay..." She knew that the consoling, calming voice was her own, and there was still a chance that another hostile mob would ambush her, but somehow those words felt soothing even though they were her own.

Seconds quickly ticked by, but they felt more ominous and urgent than they really were.

The sound of crickets seemed deafening, and she was about to press her hands over her ears when the enderman returned, accompanied by two people it had brought over.

Fei could barely heard a voice. It was garbled, but it was somehow comprehensible. The mess of language sounded similar to a "you're welcome." With that comment, several pieces of ender particles floated down as the enderman separated from the three teens.

Maybe endermen aren't supposed to be feared after all.

"Do you know that enderman or something?"

Jia's voice consisted of quick pants and gasps between one or two words. Drops of sweat fell on the grass from Flynn's face.

"... Kind of. He... seemed friendly. He saved you guys, so I guess he's a good enderman."

"Thank Notch... Thank Notch we're alive." Out of all three of them, Flynn seemed the most afraid, slightly trembling as he spoke with a quivering voice. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes widened.

"There's someone coming."

It was true. A small light shined radiantly against the dark background of the world. But was it a light that would shine them to safety, or burn their safety?

"Are... are you three lost?"

The light from the small torch shining her face, a girl with approached them. Her wide, curious eyes were slightly paranoid, but friendly. Jia, unsure if this was some sort of mask, decided to use her power. When she opened her now purple eyes, she saw the girl's aura. Floating around her was a strong, bold yellow and a few gentle strokes of white. Although Jia had her power for only a short time, she could tell there was no need to fear the older girl. So far, she learned that when she saw a bold yellow, it meant a friendly person was in front of her. Streaks of white gave off the impression that she was a very pure and innocent person. Somehow, she had already known the meaning of the colors, as if she had known them all her life.

Fei, being the friendly person she was. "Yes! Yes, we are lost! We were chased by monsters. Are you lost?"

The girl bashfully replied, "Yeah... yeah, I guess I am lost too, heheh."

"You're a highschooler, and yet you're lost?"

"I guess you can call it that. I found a place to stay in an old village. It's full of Squidwards, but I'm sure we can stay there for a bit."

"R-Really?"

"Sure. And you three can stay here until your parents find you."

Jia and Fei shared the same expression, recalling the parents they had never shared many memories with. "... Well, me and Fei don't have any. Don't know about this guy, though." As she said that, Jia pointed to Flynn.

"Oh."

Silence temporarily reigned.

Flynn inquired, "May I ask for your name?"

A welcoming smile appeared on her face that shined more brilliantly than the candle in her hand. "Kaya. My name's Kaya."

* * *

She smelled eggs that were sizzling in a pan.

A bright light was shined in front of her, slightly warming her face. She tried to open her eyes, but when she did, the light was blinding and unstandable. She immersed herself back into the peaceful, silent darkness of her thoughts. Flynn and maybe even Fei were concerned for her.

She forcefully opened them. Weak light seeped through the windows, revealing a face looking at her curiously.

Of course the first thing she had to see was her rival. Of course. Because her luck was just like that.

All three inhabinants of the small cottage did not know that during that time, across the Endless Forest, several strokes of colored chalk were drawn neatly in a pink notebook. The amateur artist focused intently on the vace in front of -

The door opened, and two people came into the room, conversing quite loudly.

With a relaxed posture, the first teen had messy black hair, with sly eyes that were calm and mischievous.

With a straight posture, the second teen had messy black hair, with sly eyes that were curious and excited.

To put simply, twins.

"Hey! Remember Minzy?"

"Oh yeah! I wonder how she's doing."

"Probably crazy as usual."

"Ya think so?"

"I think we spent enough time with her to know that if she was ever entered in the Survival Games, she would probably kill everyone including us."

"Isn't that a book or something?"

The other twin shrugged. "I think so, but who cares." The mischievous one noticed his roommate's pink notebook.

"That notebook so manly, Ky," he snickered.

His twin stifled his laughter at the sight and whispered quite loudly to his brother, "I think he secretly wants to have boobs."

Ky shot a venomous glare at the twins, surprising them.

"Whoa, someone's cranky today!"

"Bro, I'm scared, because shit's about to get real."

The teen quickly snapped out of his rudeness and apologized. "Sorry, it's just that this is kinda special to me."

"Never knew you had a girlfriend before," the first twin mocked, his stealthy eyes laughing.

"I think by girlfriend, you meant imaginary friend," his sibling added with a daunting grin.

Ky sighed, this time with a smile. "Well, it's not like that. Problem is I haven't seen her since the you-know-what."

"How interesting~" slyly said a twin.

"Please continue!" peeped another intrigued teen.

"She's the nicest girl ever. Wouldn't hurt a fly. She has a really calm and kind personality. She's very brave. And very pretty, too."

"Oh yeah! That girl from when you got your Eyes, right?"

"It's something with a j if I recall correctly. Or maybe a g."

"Wasn't her name Jelly or something?"

"No."

"Jenny?"

"No."

"Jackie?"

"No."

"I give up."

"It's Jia."

"... Jelly's a better name than Jia."

"Dude. No."

* * *

**Philosophia (n.) def: A rookie writer who answers one question and raises ten more each chapter. Because she's cray-cray. Like Minzy. **

***bows* Annyeong, Philosophia speaking~!**

**Brace yourselves, fellow readers. For the next chapter shall introduce another character that will make you confused beyond measure. Or fangirl. Personally, it's the latter for me. ^^**

**I BARELY REACHED THE 2000 WORD MARK BY EIGHT WORDS HOLY CRAP. **

**Some of the previous chapters (the first chapter, and maybe the second. Derp) are under rennovations :P Some because of the plot, and some BECAUSE THEY JUST SUCK IN DETAIL. UGGHHHHH AND SCHOOL IS ALREADY KEELING ME, MOTHER OF AMATERASU SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE.**

**Read the first chapter, and then read the two-shot I wrote **_**The Aether Fanclub. **_**Yeah, definitely different fanfics. Written by the same cray-cray writer. Call meh bipolar 8D**

**Question of the Chapter:**** Who's the guy at the end? YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHO HE IS AHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Author Me's Question to Me:**** Who do fangirl about?**

**All the guys in the story, because I picture them like cute Korean singers... owo /shot**

**Let's see what happens when Ky sees Jia's sour personality next chapter, ufufufufu~**

_**_*Philosophia*_**_


	5. A Tale of Friendly Eyes

**... Well, I'm good at updating frequently, aren't I? /slapped /shot /pushed off cliff /pushed into Void**

**Important Part of A/N (yay):**** In here, when someone dies, their body disappears and there's a flower that marks the place they died. I know, I know, it's kind of dumb, but what else was I supposed to put there? A pumpkin? That's so much symbolism!**

**Intern Rin: *looks up from computer* Actually, because of its massive weight compared to other miniscule fruits, it is used to represent the world. It could also be a foreboding since it is commonly used during Halloween, a day filled to the brim with ghouls and spirits.**

**... That was unnecessary, but okay.**

**Guest Replies**

**Guest: Why, yes, yes he was under the influence. xD Well, that's because he only saw her two times, and that was when she was super brave and stuff. So... :P **

**|..:| A Tale of Friendly Eyes |:..|**

**|~| "Well, you'll remember me eventually, so don't worry your little head about it!" |~|**

She stared at her plate. She wasn't hungry at all, and her appetite was practically nonexistent.

It wasn't possible to eat eggs after you found out the person who raised you is dead.

Dead. She never liked that word. Yet it followed her around all the time, like an annoying mosquito, buzzing in her ear irritatingly and incessantly, whispering to only her, "She's not here. She's not here." So many thoughts in her little head that caused such a massive tumult and it just wouldn't go away.

She looked up at the two other people who were struggling to find their appetite. Fei had her eyes shut mournfully as she tightly held onto the key she in her hand, while Flynn repetitively stirred his coffee, purposely distracting himself.

Even if she ate the now cold food on her plate, it would be tasteless.

The chair's wobbly legs screeched against the floor as she stood up from the table, accidentally attracting their attention.

"I'm going for a walk."

With that, she left the room.

As soon as she had shut the door behind her, the summer breeze immediately embraced her in a cool burst of air. Birds were chorusing in perfected harmony. A woodpecker beated a trunk of a tree like a metronome, keeping the natural orchestra timed flawlessly. They eventually finished the song, and the trickle of a nearby river applauded after the show. When the sparrows saw her emerge from the cottage so suddenly, they flew away in fright.

Unlike her, the world was cheerful and ignorant as always.

She slowly began to piece together what had happened before she blacked out. S-so it's true... is the body still...? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the same place where she had last saw Kaya, but a flower was now growing there, the body nowhere in sight.

She had thought it was a rumor that when someone passed away, the body would vanish in a puff of smoke, leaving a simple flower resting there. She never believed it, but now that the fact was right in front of her eyes, she could now presume that gods exist now, huh?

That's ridiculous. Idana, Idola, Icarus, and all of those gods and goddesses don't exist. What would happen to the world if Idana was roaming around creating new species? And Idola was making the most crooked, dizzying dreams? And Icarus, well, that's a rather simple answer: they would all be dead.

Dead.

As soon as she thought that, her head shaked with all sorts of thoughts, thoughts that demanded and whined and wailed for attention. Thousands of them buzzed noisily, causing her head to ache overwhelmingly. It seemed as if everything she had known shattered into a thousand pieces.

Breathe. That's what she needed to do to calm herself down, right?

Controlling the breaths she took in, she managed to bring herself forward into the forest for a brisk walk to filter out her thoughts.

The brittle leaves that crunched under the weight of her feet were perfect fuel for a wildfire. It was a wonder that there were no wildfires this year. She could hear the gentle, faint buzz of bees from a nearby hive to her left. It would be a very wise decision not to go there. As she stepped over a fallen branch, she decided to recall her memory of the Incident. It was stupid, but she wondered that passenger in the car was doing.

Her thoughts on the kid in the car lead into the memory of when she got her Eyes. She could still feel those two grotesque, sweaty palms wrapped around her neck growing tighter and tighter until -

No, no, no, she shouldn't remember the past. There was no need to dwell in former memories. What use would it be to remember things that were over and done with?

With the tip of her shoe, she kicked a rock, which eventually landed near a trunk of a spruce tree. A few crickets began to prove their existence in a messy chorus.

Immersed in her thoughts, she wondered aimlessly around the woods with no destination in mind. Well, she didn't have a destination, but she did have a goal: clear out her thoughts.

Since Kaya is... no longer present, how would they survive now? She is feared as a monster by the villagers because of her Eyes, Fei and her always become tangled in conflicts, and Kaya had died. The mere thought of the fact that Kaya had passed away was tearing her apart slowly, as if savoring and enjoying her suffering. She didn't want to be here anymore. She didn't want to be anywhere. She just wanted to disappear from existence.

Neck-deep and nearly drowning in her thoughts, she was unaware of the long log that lied on the path, and by the time she did note its presence, she heard the air whistle by her ears as she fell onto the ground face first.

She ran her fingers through her raven black hair. Ugh... I'm so stupid. After picking herself up like broken pieces of glass, she took in her surroundings for the first time.

Slightly annoyed by the dry leaves irritatingly under her foot, she wandered more and more. It seemed an owl was in the area because hoots resonated throughout the entire forest. It was so much more serene compared to the bustling city, although she hadn't seen it for a few years. Cities like those are known to have innovative technology. How much has it progressed after three years?

The trickling of water could be faintly heard when Jia realised her tongue had been as dry as a desert. Jia began to listen intently for the sound and followed it to the west. As she walked forward, the trickling of water began to increase in volume. Brittle leaves crunched irritatingly under her foot as she followed the sound. She suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening as she saw the sight below her. A massive ravine dug deep into the earth like a scar. Water spewed out of the wall of the ravine. She breathed a sigh. If she had taken one more step, that would be the end of her.

Crunch.

Jia whipped around, sensing danger. She found herself staring into two large eyes of a pig, looking as anxious as her. It stared into her eyes fearfully, as if sensing danger emitting from Jia. Relief flooded into her once more. She was about to run away from an innocent pig.

"... Stupid."

With a frightened and cowardly squeal, the pig scurried away. Turning her back away from the fleeing pig and ravine, she realised that although it was a rather strange comparison, she was just as frightened when she was sprinting for her life through the forest that day three years ago when she met -

It was that moment that Jia realised the presence of someone behind her. She swallowed. He was probably just going for a walk as well. However, due to her natural bitter nature, she wouldn't trust anyone that "coincidentally" walking the same path she did, so she quickened her pace. The person behind her kept following her. His footsteps were amplified, and she suddenly felt cold despite the warm weather that day.

She didn't bother using her Eyes, because she didn't need them to know that something wrong was happening.

Abruptly, she remembered she had taken self-defense classes when she was younger. However, all the specific lessons she had learned years ago were blurred by a think blanket of the haze of forgetfulness.

She dug back into her memories one more time in search for the specific one that would help her now. When she hit an irrelevant one with her shovel, she tossed the heavy rock away. Finally, she found it. It was simpler than she thought, but her trembling hands were unconfident.

"Hey -"

She was thankful she had tied her hair in a ponytail today, because if she didn't, her hair would probably hit her face annoyingly as she whipped around.

Before the person behind her could react, she jerked his wrist behind his back with an iron grip and pinned him to the dry ground.

His body pressed to the earth, he complained, "Owowowowowowowowowow-"

"Why are you following me?" she demanded with a fierce tone. "I can snap your little arm like a twig if you don't give me an answer in the next ten seconds."

"U-Uh, you just looked like someone I knew s-so I was hoping that y-you would turn around so I-I can see if you..."

"Stop stuttering!"

After her command, the words from his mouth came flooding out rapidly, almost incomprehensibly. "I thought you were someone I knew but you're not because if you were who I was looking for you probably wouldn't pin me to the ground because the person I'm looking for is really nice and brave and stuff so I'm sorry you're not her!"

"... Can you repeat that without all the 'you's' because it makes that really confusing."

"Uh... I-I thought -"

A different voice interrupted his words.

"Dude! You asked us to look for sheep to kill and stuff, and then you just run off! What the heck, man?" Another teen emerged from the woods with curly messy hair. When he saw his friend pinned down by Jia, his awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Uh... do you need a bit of help or something?" he said slowly.

"... Can you let me go now?" he asked. Jia could finally breathe normally, relieved that this puny boy wasn't going to rob her. The stranger stood up and dusted off the leaves that fell on his clothes.

"Well, that was awkward, wasn't it?"

His voice sounded so happy and innocent it annoyed her so much that she couldn't help but swear mentally at him. How could his nervous smile be so happy and ignorant and happy-go-lucky in this world of death? Is that even physically possible? Chances are he has the intelligence of a toddler.

That is, until she noticed not two orbs of blue or brown, but violet.

Her eyes were probably playing tricks on her, but it was true. He really did have Eyes. There were people who had Eyes. Was this... normal?

No, it was probably contacts. Fashion these days. A simple-minded person like him looks at the world with blind optimism, which is probably the reason why he succumbs to such propaganda. _This guy probably has the attention span of a goldfish to look so dumb and -_

"Hey, uh, can you please stop comparing me to a goldfish?"

Jia was quickly shaken out of her thoughts. What she was thinking were _unspoken _thoughts!

"How did you know that I was...?"

Caught red-handed, he looked at the ground. "Well... I don't think you'll understand, but -" He made eye contact with her, and his purple eyes suddenly widened, making the color even more obvious.

"W-Wait! You're... you... Jia?"

The humorous first impression was washed away by confusion. This was the first time he had even met him, and if she had met him before, Jia was sure she would remember such a pathetic person, especially a pathetic person with Eyes.

"So the girl who pinned you down was Jell-O? Wow. What a plot twist, man," his comrade said, calmly smirking.

"Hey! Why did you leave me? That's so mean!"

And, as if to make her even more confused, the person that came out of the woods was an exact copy of the first person. She was considered one of the smartest in her class before she dropped out, so this feeling of confusion was foreign to her.

"... Am I going crazy?" she asked herself, running her fingers through her tangled raven-black hair.

"Twins are uncommon, so we're special!" the first twin said with a grin.

The identical brother who had just came out of the forest was chewing a steak. When he saw Jia and his friend, he looked at Jia, then at his friend, then at Jia again. He awkwardly offered his steak, and she politely refused.

"Oh, by the way," she said, attempting to have a normal conversation with strangers, "why does that smell like smoke so much? I think you overcooked it. I can smell it all the way from here."

The twin looked at her with a confused expression and inspected his steak. "No," he said, shaking his head. "I cooked it right. But I smell smoke, too."

The person she accidentally pinned down stepped on a few leaves, the dry crunch sounding remarkably more nerve-wracking and significant than before.

"You know," he said, "it's been really windy and dry lately."

**KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYY /shot**

***bows* Annyeong, Philosophia speaking~!**

**So many questions in this chapter that won't be answered for a while. *troll face* Why? Because I can. Since you may be confused, this is the information we have about the characters so far:**

**Jia [ Aura Perceiving ] - Pessimistic; was strangled. Has some sort of connection with Ky.**

**Fei [ Seeing Eyes ] - Struck with a pipe, which led her to gain her Eyes. Happy-go-lucky and very sweet. **

**Flynn [ Time Reversal ] - Suffers from amnesia; found in a river, so we can presume he drowned. Used to go to school. Lived with Kaya.**

**Kaya - [ None ] Lived in the same town before she was framed for something and was put into prison with Raiden. Somehow escaped with Raiden and lived as neighbors before she was seperated for some unkown reason. Died by a sword (yay I killed your feels again)**

**Ky [ Hinted, but not certain ] - Has some sort of connection with Jia. **

**Twin 1 and Twin 2 [ Unknown ] - Roommates with Ky. **

**Raiden [ None ] - Wherabouts currently unknown.**

**Minzy [ Unknown ] - Mentioned by the two twins in the end of Chapter 4.**

**WE ALREADY HAVE NINE CHARACTERS HOLY CRAP AND THERE'S MORE O.O**

**Random Question of the Chapter:**** What is Ky's ability? (That one is rather obvious .3.) What's your theory on how Jia and Ky met? Come up with any theory, even if it's crazy. xD Well, I have some news for ya: YOU'RE ALL WRONG AHAHAHAH - /shot**

**_***_**Philosophia*_**_


End file.
